Irish scientists develop improved malaria vaccine

Scientists at University College Cork in Ireland have successfully finished pre-clinical testing of an experimental vaccine against malaria delivered through the skin. The method is an improvement on this type of vaccine delivery, whose use is being researched in relation to other infections as well, including Ebola and HIV. To make the vaccine, the team used a live adenovirus similar to the virus that causes the common cold. It was engineered to be safer and produce the same protein as the parasite that causes malaria. Adenoviruses are one of the most powerful vaccine platforms scientists have tested, the researchers say in a press statement. The one they used produced strong immunity responses to the malaria antigen with lower doses of the vaccine. To deliver the vaccine into the body, the researchers used a skin patch with arrays of tiny silicon microneedles that painlessly create temporary pores. It’s similar to the array used...